The Sound Of Silence
by HotSnec
Summary: Beyond has kidnapped Near, and it's up to the rest of the Wammy boys to find him. He's torturing and mutilating Near-until it takes a turn to the yaoi side of things. Will they find Near? And even more pressing-will he want to leave?
1. Chapter 1

BB's Hideout

Tuesday, 11:23 am

Near whimpered quietly as Beyond whipped him again.

"Damn, Near! Show some more emotion!" Beyond complained, rotating the worn leather belt for an extra burst of pain. Though it hurt the small albino's petite frame like a thousand volts of electricity, he only winced. He could not give Beyond the satisfaction of breaking him, breaking the emotionless mask that he wore constantly. He leaned against the cold walls, having already been beaten to the ground. The floor and walls, although grimy, offered his battered body relief from the pain inflicted upon him.

"Look, I know it hurts like hell, so why would you try so hard to hide it?" Beyond asked vindictively, pacing across the dungeon-like room, all the while twirling the belt threateningly at his side. Near only looked up, forcing as much coldness as he could muster out of his large, dark eyes. Beyond paused for a moment, waiting for the answer that would never come. He glanced at the child before him, then shrugged.

"Have it your way, then." Beyond muttered passively as he wound up the belt for another brutal blow.

Tuesday, 3:00 pm

Wammy's House

Mello leaned with his back against a flagpole in the Wammy's extensive playground, watching the other children spill out of the school as the bell rang. He saw Matt among the crowd, walking in the herd with the rest of them, his bright crimson head all but lost in the sea of hyperactive students shuffling down the concrete steps of the school. Matt spotted him quickly, Mello being the only one on the playground, and started making his way towards him.

"Too cool for school, eh?" Matt said with a smile as he approached his blonde buddy.

"Yeah, whatever." Mello smirked. He kicked backwards onto the pole, causing him to swing forward in the 'coolest' way possible. He stepped towards Matt, who was taking his Nintendo DS Lite out of his schoolbag.

"How did classes go?" Mello asked nonchalantly, as a breeze rippled past. He could hear other kids hollering on the other side of the playground, the swings creaking, and the Tetris theme emitting from the tiny speakers on the DS.

"Great. Fantastic." Matt said quickly, too focused on the game to really answer Mello's question. Mello's solution to this problem was to smack the DS to the ground.

"What the hell man? I was just about to beat my high score! I was _this _close! The infuriated red head held his fingers less than an inch apart to show exactly 'how close' he was.

'Like I give a damn about your stupid game! I want to know how classes were!" Mello half-shouted as Matt retrieved his DS.

"Maybe if you showed up once in a while, you'd know!" Matt said defensively, already switching from angry to slightly accusing. He was about to continue until he caught the look on Mello's face. "...classe were the same as usual. Nothing special. Why do you care so much?" Matt asked as he brushed the dirt off the DS.

"What amazing thing did Near do this time? How has he _dazzled_ us all today?" Mello spat out bitterly, his voice laden with sarcasm.

"Come to think of it, Near wasn't here today..." Matt thought for a moment. " If he was sick or something, wouldn't you and your skipping self had already seen him?"

"Matt...If I had known he he wasn't there, then why the HELL would I ask what he did in school?" Mello growled, exasperation heavy in his voice.

"I don't know! All I know is that we haven't seen Near today, which is unusual. He never skips school." Matt pondered the facts aloud.

"Then let's go check it out!" Said Mello, excited for something to do.

"Ok..." Matt sighed defeatedly. He knew he wouldn't get to play his DS as long as they were on this 'adventure.' He sighed again longingly one last time, then allowed himself to be pulled away by the determined blonde.


	2. Chapter 2

Wammy's House

4:41pm

"We've checked everywhere, Mello!" The gamer whined. He was used to scouting maps a million times bigger, but that was only in video games. In real life, he was exhausted. "He's not anywhere!"

"He's got to be somewhere!" Mello retorted. 'Where the fuck could he be?" he thought to himself. The infirmary denied having seen him that day, his bedroom was empty, and the playroom only had a couple of chldren it it playing aimlessly with the old colorful set of marbles. But no Near anywhere.

"Let's ask around. Maybe someone else saw him." Matt reasonably suggested. Mello nodded his head, deep in thought. So, since they were already there, they started in the playroom. No luck. They asked everyone at dinner, not eating anything themselves.

"Nope. Haven't seen him." said a fat boy with light blonde hair and blue eyes in between bites of a roast beef sandwich.

"Linda?" Matt said as politely as possible, tapping on her shoulder. She wasn't paying attention to them at all, she was instead gabbing to her gal pals. Matt tried again.

"Linda? I want to know if-" seeing that Linda wasn't paying attention, Mello intervened.

"LINDA! TURN YOUR FAT FUCKING HEAD AROUND!" She immediately spun around.

"What do you want?" She said, looking at Mello disgustedly.

"I want you to go die in a fucking hole, you-" Mello started, but Matt shoved him away.

"We just wanted to know if you had seen Near today, that's all." Matt said, an apologetic look in his eyes.

"Oh. Yeah, I saw him this morning..." She said, trailing off.

"Annnnnnd?" Mello said annoyingly.

"'And nothing, you fat sack of crap!" Linda said defiantly, turning back to her dinner.

"Linda, please, don't listen to him. This is very important." Matt pleaded, flashing a desperate smile. "Tell us- no, tell me what you saw."

"Ok...as long as he'll stop being annoying!" Linda asserted, pointing an accusing finger at Mello. He was about to reply with some smart comment, but Matt gave him a look that clearly conveyed 'Shut the hell up!'

"Ok...it was my first period class and I was doodling on a piece of scrap paper. I looked out the window and I saw Near in the courtyard with some guy I've never seen before in my life. He got into his car, and they drove away." Linda finished with an accomplished look on her face.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Matt urged.

"It didn't look like anyone was trying to stop them, and besides, Near walked willingly into the car. I thought maybe he was meeting with L." She defended, taunting Mello with the last sentence, knowing it would get to him. It was too much for him to bear, as suspected. The thought of Near and L having special meetings boiled his blood.

"It can't be L! Why would he only take Near? That makes no sense!" Mello blew his fuse.

"Relax! We can just go check with Roger, and problem solved." Matt said to his furious companion, leading him to Roger's office.


	3. Chapter 3

Wammys House

5:13 pm

Matt and Mello walked to Roger's office. They were both thinking hard about the situation as they dragged their feet, shuffling down the hallway.

"Matt?" Mello asked softly, looking down at his feet.

"Yes, Mello?" Matt said just as softly, sensing that Mello was in one of his rare distressed moments. Matt liked to preserve these monents, because he liked the way Mello looked when he wasn't screaming at someone, and because he liked the contrast of the loud, angry, usual Mello and the quiet, soul-sharing Mello.

"What if Near's been...adopted?" Mello whispered, looking up to Matt on the last word. Matt was so shocked that he stopped walking. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. What if their little Near had found another home to live in, a new family to spend his time with?

"No...that's not possible...we have to stay at Wammy's until they figure out who L's succesor is gonna be! They wouldn't just let him get adopted, he's the number one choice..." Matt said his thoughts aloud. He tried to deny it, but the more he thought about it, the more realistic the thought became. They live in an orphanage, after all...

"You don't sound so sure." Mello said, becoming his old apprehensive self again, crossing his arms to complete the image.

"You know what?" Matt said, starting to get irritated with his best friend's mood swings, which were becoming more frequent than usual. "It's because I DON'T KNOW. It's an entirely realistic idea, to be completely honest. We live in an orphanage, Mello." Matt regretted the words the instant they escaped his lips. Mello looked shaken beyond belief. Matt hadn't noticed until now, but his usually-perfect hair was looking tassled and unkept, which for Mello was almost unheard of. There could be a national emergency going on and Mello wouldn't have a hair out of place. Combined with the shock and devestation clearly visible on his facce, he looked halfway like a madman. Neither one of them said anything for a minute, just stood together in the deserted hallway. Matt finally broke the silence.

"Mello? You look...mental..." Mello didn't seem to hear him, because he made no response at all. He didn't even blink. Matt became worried about him. "Mello! Mells, say something!" He grabbed the frazzled blonde by the shoulders and shook him hard. That got his attention more than anything else. He snapped out of his shocked state, instinctively pulling back from Matt's rough grip. They looked at each other for a moment, and conversed with their eyes. They silently agreed to go ask Roger, and simotaneously continued their way down the hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

Wammy's House

5:27 pm

Mello burst into Roger's office, Matt trailing closely behind him. Roger was dozing off in his leather chair, a half-finished pile of paperwork stacked in front of him.

"Roger!" Mello shouted, his voice even louder in the confined space. Roger awoke with a look of panic on his face.

"What's wrong? What's going on?"Roger spluttered, shaking his head and looking around his office.

"It's Near, we think-" Matt started, but Roger cut him off.

"Oh God, Mello, how badly did you hurt him this time?" Roger asked exasperatedly, pushing himself off of his mahogany desk and grabbing his coat.

"Mello didn't-" Matt tried to explain, but he was interrupted yet again by Roger's scolding.

"I swear Mello, one more day in the infirmary and that boy could become a permanent resident of it! Did you ever stop to think-"

"Roger! I didn't touch Near! He's missing!" Mello shouted, breaking the old man's stride. Roger looked to Matt to confirm.

"Mello's telling the truth, sir. Near's gone." Matt said as seriously as he could.

"Oh." Roger said sitting back down, his head in his hands. "So Mello had nothing to do with this?" Roger asked, looking up at the two boys in his office.

"No! Why would I-" Mello yelped as Matt's bony elbow connected with his ribcage.

"What Mello means to say is no, neither of us have anything to do with it." Matt stated. There was an uneasy silence.

"So, what's the problem?" Roger asked the worried duo.

"Roger?" The blond asked, suddenly timid again. "Has Near been...adopted?"

"Adopt-adopted?" Roger spluttered. "That's not possible. We are instructed not to let anyone get adopted without going through a series of rigorous steps, one of which is contacting L himself. And we're especially not supposed to adopt out anyone in the running to be L's succesor as high on the list as Near. Why would you ever think of such a thing?" Roger cocluded his rant, looking to them for an answer.

"I'm going to ask a stupid question here, but is Near supposed to be leaving the grounds at all today? Mello hissed through gritted teeth. Roger looked confused as he slowly shook his head.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Mello asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Let me check," Roger said as he fished out his pocket calendar. "Nope, nothing sceduled for today." He held the book out for all to see. The square that displayed the date was ominously blank.

"That means..." Matt said, trailing off, letting the rest of the sentence hang in the air.

"What exactly does it mean?" Roger questioned, oblivious to the intensity in the air.

"It means Near's been fucking kidnapped!" Mello screeched, slamming both hands on the desk.


	5. Chapter 5

BB's Hideout

6:16 pm

Near was in a different room then he originally started out in. room had a friendlier look about it, with wallpaper and carpeting. As Near looked closely at the wallpaper though, he realized that the tiny design on it was thousands of sheep jumping over little fences. He sighed quietly, looking down at the carpet. He already knew that it was going to be bright, white, and fluffy. BB had been calling him his 'little sheep' or 'lamb' all day. Near wondered if the sick joke was designed exclusively for him, then decided it probably was.

He did not waste any more time. He sat on the floor and gently peeled the shirt off of his tiny body, looking down at his torso. The welts left by the belt were a deep indigo in some places, and more red in others. He glanced at one that looked particularly painful, starting just above his belly button and wrapping around his side. It was a deeper color than any of the rest. He gingerly laid a single finger on it, and pressed down ever so slightly. He almost let out a yelp. The pain made him want to puke, to make an ugly mess all over the seemingly perfect white carpet. But he didn't, he only slipped his shirt back on and examined his surroundings. There were no windows in this room, and the door was obviously locked, dashing any hopes of escape he had. He looked dejectedly to the floor, then closed his eyes. He tried to think of something else, anything else, to get his mind off of the dreadful pain that was coursing throughout his body. He thought of his bed at the Wammy House. He wondered what time it was, envying the thought of sleeping safely tucked in a warm bed. His mind wandered off to Mello. He wondered what Mello was doing without him there. Maybe he was teasing Linda, or scoffing at one of Matt's games. Near inwardly smiled at the thought of Mello chomping on a chocolate bar, while he and Matt discussed the technical aspects of one of Matt's games. Mello argued that it wasn't realistic, while Matt insisted that video games weren't supposed to be realistic, otherwise they'd be boring.

He jumped at the sound of the lock clicking. Beyond peeked around the doorframe, beckoning the small boy. He slowly got up, his body achy and sore, and walked towards the door.

"We're going to have such great fun, my lamb. Follow me, now!" Beyond said cheerfully. One could mistake his tone for affection, but Near knew better. He was only cheerful at the future prospect of torture. He followed his gleeful captor with a blank expression on his face, but on the inside he was dreading whatever was in store for him.


	6. Chapter 6

Wammy's House

7:01 pm

Roger stayed quite calm despite the situation. First he contacted Watari to tell him of the news. Once Watari arrived he asked Linda a series of questions on what she saw.

"Linda, please tell me anything and eveything you witnessed." Watari said kindly, but also in a no-nonsense tone.

"Um, well, the car was a grey, not like a bright silver or anything, but a dark, shiny grey." She recalled, a concentrated look in her eyes.

"Do you know what kind of car it was?" Watari said, leaning in closer. Matt, since he had better handwriting than Mello, was taking notes on a notepad.

"I don't know cars very well...It wasn't as big as a van, but bigger than a smartcar. It had a...Ford symbol on it, I think" She said nervously. It was obvious that she didn't do well under pressure. She glanced around the room, looking first at Matt, then Watari, and finally Mello. He was being uncharacteristically quiet, leaning on a wall in the corner with his arms crossed and a straight face.

"Ok. And what about the man that led Near into the car? What did he look like?" Watari pressed on.

"He had...black hair, and um...I swear his eyes had a reddish tint to them, otherwise they were a...dark grey? He wasn't short, but he wasn't too tall. He was maybe...a little taller than Roger. He was really lanky and skinny though, but he looked like he was very strong. Does that help?" She struggled through slowly, remembering one detail at a time.

"Perfect sense. Now, please describe his hair to me in more detail. How long was it? Any particular style?"

Um, it was kinda in layers, not really any style...it was just a little messy." She recalled. "It was about here." She said, holding her hand at the bottom of her neck.

"I've got a bright idea," Mello said from the back corner of the room. Everyone was startled to hear him speak since he had been keeping so quiet. "You're famous around here for your realistic drawings or something?" Linda nodded. "Then draw him." Mello said, circling forawrd to Roger's desk, where Watari and Linda were sitting across from each other.

"I was just thinking that, Mello. Very good." Watari said earnstley, reaching into Rogers drawer for a pencil and another notepad of crisp, unlined paper. He handed them to Linda, who took them with shaky hands and began scribbling furiously on the pad. After 15 minutes and a lot of erasing, there was a near-perfect sketch of Beyond staring back up at them. Of course, only Watari knew who he was or how much resemblence he beared to L.

"Interesting. Well, I have a very good idea of who it is. In fact, I'd like to say I'm positive."

"Who?" Mello choked, taken aback. He would have never expected Watari to jump to a conclusion so quickly.

"This has to be Beyond Birthday." Watari said gravely.

"That sounds familiar...isn't he that freak from the Los Angeles cases?" Mello recalled, rolling his eyes back in his head as if he were looking for facts in his skull.

"Yes, unfortuneately. There's no telling what he might do to Near, or why he abducted him in the first place. He's mentally unstable and totally unpredictable, but he's a makes him very dangerous." Watari explained with a half-disgusted, half-concerned look on his face "He DID escape out of the high-security prison-psych ward we put him in, after all."

"Geez, we couldn't have picked a better psychopath to abduct Near." Matt exhaled, putting down his notepad and pen.

"...If he's L's clone,does that mean that this-" Mello pointed at Linda's sketch. "-looks like L?"

"Not exactly." Watari said. He took the pencil and lightly shaded in some bags under the stone-cold, dead eyes. He let them look, then erased the foriegn marks carefully, the eraser tip barely touching the paper. "He also has larger pupils and messier hair, without any tint to his eyes." Watari described his L fondly, setting the pencil down. Matt and Mello were glad to finally know what the elusive L looks like, but considering the situation they didn't let themselves get too excited.

"So...Matt, did you get all the information down?" Watari asked.

"Wh-Oh! Yeah, I got it. It says 'Dark grey Ford, usual size. Suspect has black, slightly messy hair and dark grey eyes with a reddish tint. Hair is in layers and almost shoulder length. Lanky and thin, but also looks very strong.' I didn't write about his behavior, because we already know about that part." Matt said, proud of his work. He didnt have much work to do, but he did it very well.

"Good, good. Now we have to figure out how we're going to do this" Watari Said, before catching a glance at the clock. "Ok guys, it's 10, so you two-" he glanced at Mello and Matt. "-should go to bed early tonight. You have a big day ahead of you. Linda, thank you kindly for your help. You have been very useful and helped us uncover a lot of information. We will bother you no more after this." Watari said, smiling at the children.

"Goodnight, Mister Watari." Said Linda. Mello muttered a hasty goodnight, and Matt murmured 'night. Then the three left Roger's office, the boys anticipating the next day.


	7. Chapter 7

BB's Hideout

Wednesday, 12:41 am

Near layed on the carpet in the sheep room. He was in pain, but he had one comforting thought-Beyond was probably done with him, at least for tonight. He promised he was going to leave him alone for at least 8 hours, so he could get to sleep. Him actually sleeping was a joke to him, there was no way he would sleep for 8 hours tonight. But the promise itself was not a joke. If there was anything he had gleaned over the past day, it was that Beyond did not make empty promises.

He curled into a fetal position on his side. He wasn't too hurt on his sides because Beyond focused mainky on his larger areas, like his front and back. Earlier he said that they were his canvas, and he was an artist. That was while he was carving into his back with a butchering knife. He squirmed at the thought, but then realized that squirming only opened up the newly-formed scabs over the deep lacerations. During the process of carving, Beyond explained to him that he was not carving deep enough to hurt any muscles too bad, but to instead leave a scar that wouldn't fade for years to come, if not ever. Near had no idea what had been sliced into him, it could be a picture or words or just stray marks for all he knew. As hey layed on his side, remembering the absolute, searing pain that came when Beyond forced the knife through one of the previously accquired welts. At the time he was only glad that the welts were mostly on the front of his frail body, because he couldn't bear the pain brought on by the knife. He could have screamed, which he almost did. Instead, he whimpered loudly and instinctively flinched away whenever the knife began to enter a welt. Every time he did, Beyond would grab him and pull his body, which was growing weak with blood loss, back into place.

"I'm sorry," B would say, no hint of remorse in his voice. Then he'd get right on back to work. 'If you're sorry,' He thought bitterly, 'then why would you continue with that course of actions?'

After Beyond seemed satisfied with his work, he laid the knife down on the table, which frankly in Near's opion looked like it belonged in an operating room, or perhaps a morgue. He grabbed a nearby towel and rubbed his wounded back tenderly, wiping away the blood. He didn't feel the tender motions being put into it, however; he was too focused on the fuss searing into his open wounds, not to mention the microscopic dust. His tortorous captor took a picture, then left him in the room to bleed.

As he recalled the event from not even hours ago, he thought again of Wammy's House. He wondered if they were trying to find him, to save him from this nightmarish torture. His heart fell when he realized that they probably didn't even know where he was. 'Maybe I should have made more of a commotion when I was first abducted...' He considered to himself. No, he probably would have gotten more punishment. He shivered at the thought of someone on Beyond's bad side. 'I'm getting all of this, and I haven't knowingly done anyting to him...Maybe someone saw him? If someone saw Beyond Birthday, surely they'd know who he was? They did discuss him in class once...but then again, he's probably the only one that looked through the classified files from Roger's desk (on instruction, of course) and saw the mugshot. Even there, he looked criminally insane. But even if no one recognized him, they would report seeing him being taken off-grounds to Roger...or would they? It was a pretty civil kidnapping, after all. But even so, everyone was in class anyway, and Roger was probably in his office doing paperwork or something of the like. He sighed, giving up. He was probably going to be here for a while, at the mecy of Beyond. He realized that he really was tired, his poor body more than his mind. He shifted int an uneasy, uncomfortable, but much-needed sleep.

BB's Hideout

Wednesday, 8:46 am

Near had been awake for an hour before he heard the knocks on the door. He looked silently up at Beyond as he entered the room.

"Let me see your back." Beyond instructed, adamantly but also cheerfully. Near obediantly started lifting up his shirt, but Beyond grabbed it from the child and delicately inched it up his frame., then over his snowy curls. He handed it back to Near, who was sitting criss-cross inn front of him. Beyond kneeled behind him and traced the words he carved into the previously baby-soft, unmarred skin of the child's back. With every touch from Beyond's cold fingers, Near shuddered. But Beyond noticed the trail of goosebumps forming all over his body.

"Isn't it amazing, Near?" Beyond grinned, enjoying the child's discomfort. "Your central nervous system is making your hairs stand up at my slightest touch." As if to prove his point, he ran his icy finger up and down Near's spine, causing more goosebumps to sprout on the frightened albino. Beyond laughed as he stood to his feet. He walked to the door, opening it slowly.

"Now come with me, my little Lamb. There's something I'd like to show you." Beyond said, a chershire grin on his face as he held the door open for him.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE-Thank you to Maria Starlight for telling me about the repeat problem...it was a slip of the finger, and I probably wouldn't have ever noticed it without you :3 but here's the real chapter 7, enjoy, and review! I love reviews...**


	8. Chapter 8

BB's Hideout

Wednesday, 9:10 am

Near walked slowly into the rest of the house. He followed Beyond up some stairs and into a hallway. At Beyond's gesturing, he walked into the room nearest them, the only one with the door open. He heard the humming of a computer in the far corner of the room. Beyond took 3 strides across the room and plopped himself swiftly into the chair, jiggling the mouse. The desktop sprung to life, the generic Windows background stretched across the screen. Beyond had his e-mail open, Near noticed, minimized at the bottom of the screen. He double-clicked on it. What Near assumed to be his username, , popped up. 'How stupid.' Near thought. 'It's so blunt. He should have an alias or something, then later in the e-mail explain his identity.' But he didn't dare express his opinion, only watched as Beyond clicked on a message he had recently sent to a . Near pieced together that it was Quillish Wammy's emergency e-mail.

"Don't understand why people can't just all use the same damn e-mail as me..." Beyond muttered to himself as the attachments loaded. "Makes no sense...It'd just be much easier for us all...I'll be lucky if half of this gets through the shitty e-mail change." He griped, turning to his little captive. Near only stared at the computer screen, frozen in shock and horror. The e-mail contained 3 pictures of his mutilated back from different angles. The lacerations spelled out:

'To whom it may concern,

I'm having a great time with little

Nate. Thanks for letting me borrow him.

-Beyond Birthday'

The grotesque note started at his shoulder blades and ended at the beginning of his lower back.

"Think of it like a tattoo. You're probably going to have it the rest of your life, or at least a good bit of it. Except, unlike a tattoo, it'll be much more painful for the next few weeks. Every time you move your shoulders or arms, or bend over, or anything like that, you'll probably open up one of these scabs. In those pictures, it was nice and pretty and fresh, but now its all scabbed and nasty and ugly. I'm actually quite proud of it." Beyond smirked. "But now I'm just babbling. I want your opinion. Do you think it's a bold statement?" Beyond asked eagerly, looking at Near with expecting eyes. When Near stayed silent, Beyond got up from the chair and took Near's chin between his thumb and forefinger. He forced the child to look up at him, then decided that looking from a distance wasn't enough. Near invoulentarily cried out as Beyond lifted him to his feet using his thumb to press upwards on his jaw.

"What do you think, Nate?" Beyond growled into his face. The insane look in his eye had come back full-force and he was breathing heavily. 'So he's in THAT mood,' He thought wearily. On the outside he remained silent and made himself stare into the crazed eyes of the serial-murderer who currently held his fate. All at once he was tossed carelessly to the opposite wall, his face leading his quick fall. His head made impact with the wall, followed by the rest of his body. He screamed as the welts and the 'note' were slammed hard into the unforgiving hardness of the wall. Tears of absolute pain streamed from his face as he looked up to see his captor pacing slowly and menacingly around the room.

"Oh, I see. Still the silent treatment. That's _absolutely _fine with me," Beyond said in a tone that made it clear that this enraged him to no end. "as long as you remember this, Nate." Beyond was suddenly crouched down beside him. He was thrown into a tight embrace, Beyond putting his mouth to his neck. He whispered now, deliberately blowing hot air into his ear.

"I can make you feel emotion." He squirmed away, but was pulled back again into the vise-like grip. He gasped aloud as Beyond grazed his earlobe roughly with his teeth, and held him to his body. Near could feel both of their heartbeats, his quick and fluttering like a hummingbird's, and Beyond's deep and solid. He was hit with the largest wave of goosebumps he had ever gotten as Beyond slithered his tongue into his already-sensitive ear. Beyond went deeper and deeper into the small boy's ear canal, holding him tight enough that he was crushing his ribs. He was in excruciating pain, his scabs being torn apart by the forcefulness, but that wasn't the first thing on his mind. He was more concentrating on the warm, wet tongue that was now running from his ear to his shoulder. Beyond finished with a little love nip on his collarbone, then shoved him out of his lap.

Near fell to the ground instantly, inhaling and exhaling sharply. He didn't notice the odd breathing pattern until that moment, or the sweat that broke out on his forehead, as well as his palms.

Again proving his point, Beyond stood with a grin on his face, watching the usually so in-control-of-his-emotions adolescent floundering with the new previously unexperienced emotions that were suddenly forced upon him. He scooped Near up with ease and carried him back down the stairs, to the sheep room. He gently placed him on the carpet, before leaving him alone and locking the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N) Sorry for the wait, guys. My laptops being all screwy...I'm on my sister's computer right now. *buffs fingernails on jacket like a badass, sighs* Yep...risky business. Anyway, enjoy this late chapter! :D **

Wammy's House

Wednesday, 10:11 am

Roger woke Matt and Mello up that morning at 10. He informed them that there would be no classes for them until further notice and they had a meeting with Watari at 10:30 sharp. It wasn't until they were fully out of bed and awake for a while that the silence broke.

"So, did you get any sleep last night?" Matt asked Mello as he spat out his toothpaste. Mello was running a brush through his morning-frizzed hair, wincing as he hit a large tangle.

"Not good sleep. I was tossing and turning thinking about what that freak could be doing to Near." Mello said with distaste, working the brush through the ends of his hair before slowly making his way up, like Linda did. To his surprise, it actually got rid of tangles better than just starting at the roots and going down.

"Well, yeah, same here," Matt said, combing his hair less sophisticatedly with his fingers. He couldn't care less about bed-head, frizziness, or humidity, which annoyed the crap out of Mello sometimes. He did one final boyish flip of his hair, turning to his frustrated friend.

"This might be weird, but what did you see him doing?" Mello looked into the distance, contemplating this question, his hairbrush briefly pausing it's path through his hair.

"I don't know...like, keeping him chained to a wall, torturing him...?" Mello said slowly, wondering what Matt was getting at. Matt looked around, as if checking for witnesses, (which was silly; they were in the bathroom alone) and leaned in, his emerald green eyes piercing Mello's very soul.

"But did you see him...doing other things to him?" Matt asked.

"Matt, I don't know what I'm missing here, but I have no idea what the hell you're getting at." Mello plainly said, giving Matt a condensating look.

"Doing..._sexual_ things. Like touching him..." Matt trailed off uncomfortably, looking at Mello knowingly and hoping that he knew what he meant.

"_TOUCHING_ him?" Mello whispered, nearly going into hysterics. He thought of a much older man fondling poor, helpless, weak Near, who was chained to a wall.

"I don't know!" Matt said defensively. "This guy could be a pedo-rapist for all we know!"

"Ugh..." Mello moaned, shaking off his nasty thoughts. "He makes me sick! What if Near's getting molested right now, and the worst thing is that we can't do anything about it!" He slammed the brush into the marble bathroom sink frustratedly. Matt didn't know this, but Mello was less disgusted with the idea of a creepy pedophile, more so with the idea of anyone else at all touching Near. But he would never admit it to Matt or anyone else, he could barely admit it to himself.

"I know." Matt whispered. Mello was confused by the volume and tone of his voice, so he turned around, shocked to see tears welling in Matt's eyes.

"I can't believe we let him get abducted by this...monster. Now he's getting hurt, and MOLESTED, and we're not doing anything about it. And I bet Beyond knows that, too! He knows we can't touch him!" Matt spat bitterly, tears of anger and sadness rolling down his face.

"Aw, jeez...Matt, don't cry..." Mello awkwardly stood in front of him. Then he decided to spontaneously pull his distressed friend into a hug. Matt hugged him back fiercely, burying his face into Mello's shoulder. Mello was shocked for a moment, but then he stopped thinking and started doing. He smoothed down Matt's hair with his left hand and pulled him closer with his right.

"It'll be alright, Matt. We'll find him and the bastard who stole him from us. It's alright." Mello whispered into Matt's messy hair, his eyes closed. They stood in the sweet embrace, swaying very slowly and slightly from side to side. Suddenly the bathroom door swung open. On the other side stood the fat, blond kid from last night's dinner. They pulled away quickly, but no speed could be quick enough for an embrace that tight.

"Oh!" He said in a mock-surprise tone. "You guys are _gaaaaaaaaaay_?" The fat, ignorant boy stretched out the word and flipped his hand in a feminine way. Matt, whose rage had gone down to almost zero, could feel the pressure, worries, doubts, and stress from the past few days residing in Mello's body bubble into pure anger. He knew what that meant.

"Mello, don't..." He warned, grabbing the furious boy's upper arm to hold him back.

"No, what's little gay-boy gonna do to me, hit me with his man-purse?" The boy spewed offensive, childish remarks one after the other, getting in Mello's face. Matt loosened his grip.

"But, _oh_! He doesn't want to mess up his _hair_, does he?" The disgusting baby-talk the fat boy used was disturbing as well as offensive. But he went over the line when he took a clump of Mello's silky hair and slowly let it fall, each strand joining the other in a messy pile on Mell's scalp. Matt let go. This boy had gone too far, and he deserved what was coming to him.

Mello took a step back and punched the boy straight in his arrogant face. The boy was taken aback by Mello's raw strength as he tumbled over. Mello just stood there looking down at the boy that thought he was so tough. Now he was on the ground, where low-life scum like him belong.

"You...you fag!" The boy said thickly from behind his hand, which was covering a split lip. He clumsily got up and left the bathroom sobbing and dripping blood. Matt and mello looked at each other. They both knew that they were about to get in trouble. Sure enough, Roger stormed in, the boy trailing closely behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Roger shouted at Mello. "You cannot go punching people in the face for no reason! What has gotten into you?"

But sir, he called Mello and I-" Matt protested, stepping forward.

"Nothing. He didn't do anything." Mello interrupted. "I just wanted to punch something_ obscenely_ large." He scoffed at the boy who was hiding behing Roger. Really, he didn't want Roger to know him and Matt were hugging like that for a reason he couldn't explain.

"I started it." Mello sneered. "So sue me." Roger stared at him for a moment, dumbstruck as to why he would pick a fight out of thin air. He then shook his head and sighed.

"Corey, head to the infirmary and then back to class, which, need I mention, you're supposed to be in right now." Corey stuck his tongue out very immaturely behind Roger's back, then ran off. " Matt, Mello, it's 10:57. You've missed your meeting with Watari, but he's willing to reschedule because he thinks you might want to see the e-mail Beyond has sent him." Roger sternly scolded them.

"An e-mail? What does it say?" Matt asked eagerly.

"Why don't you go find out? Watari's in my office." He stepped out of the doorway, excusing the boys to leave. They looked at him with gratitude in their eyes for not punishing them, then hurried towards Roger's office.


	10. Chapter 10

Wammy's House

11:00 am, Wednesday

Matt and Mello nearly knocked the door down as they burst into the musty office. Watari was sitting calmly at the desk, the chair facing away from them.

Sorry...we're late...sir." Matt panted. Mello stood beside him, nodding frantically, too winded to speak.

"It's quite all right. At least you weren't too terribly late." Watari properly spoke, his voice bland as he turned around in the boys were surprised to see how old he looked. The creases and wrinkles in his face seemedd more defined, and the frown he was sporting didn't help his image.

"Now let's get to business. Please step around so that you may see the computer screen." Watari motioned to the old desktop before turning to it and clicking on the internet icon. He logged into his email account and clicked on the most recent email. Mello realized with a start that it was from BeyondBirthday at aol.

"That's bold of him to blatantly put it there like that. It kind of bothers me, you know? Couldn't he have made a normal username, and explain who it is in the email?" Mello talked to try to ease the tension. Nobody answered him, they were too busy watching the computer's screen load the pictures.

"That computer's really old, sir. You should convince Roger to get you a new one, look at the lag!" Matt said, somewhat nerve-rackingly, pointing at the screen. Watari stretched a tense smile, as they watched the pictures, which weren't even a quarter of the way loaded after a few minutes. Matt decided it was time to stop talking. The top part of the picture was loaded, and it wasn't exactly pleasant. It showed part of Near's bare neck and shoulders. It was very obvious that he was at least shirtless, possibly naked, which made Mello simmer. As the picture loaded, it just got gorier.

"Is-is that blood?" Mello asked disgustedly, leaning closer to the screen in disbelief. Watari nodded gravely. By now the picture was about a third loaded, and you could see Near's entire upper back. Matt and Mello stared in horror as they started to make out the words grotesquely carved into Near's back. Matt read each line out loud as they downloaded.

"To whom it may concern...I am having a gret time with little...Near." He choked. "Thanks for letting me borrow him. From, Beyond Birthday." He leaned back, processing the words.

"That's...that's fucking sick!" Mello voiced his opinion without considering who he was with. "Sorry, Sir." He followed up hastily, glancing up at Watari.

"No, I quite agree." Watari said. Though he looked quite calm, there was a fire behind his eyes. The three of them stared at the pictures, drinking up the gore and disfigurement.

"Are those...bruises?" Matt asked, pointing to the purple spots.

"They look more like welts...imagine a knife going through one of those. That's gotta be horrible." Mello observed, a shudder rippling through his spine.

"What would get give him welts? Other than, you know, Beyond...I was talking more of the instrument used...by Beyond..." Matt trailed off, his thoughts not organized.

"But the question is 'why?'" Mello pointed out.

"We can't be sure. But we can rest assured that it wasn't an accident." Watari said.

"Near doesn't deserve torture! What did he ever do to him?" Mello shouted in a rage.

"Quiet, Mello. We've got to make a plan." Watari said, giving them his most serious face. The boys looked solemly at him. "From Linda's observations, we can safely assume that the car BB is using is a Volkswagen Golf Mk III. That doesn't get us very far, it's a fairly common car in Europe. From the picture you can tell he is in a domestic place, like a house or apartment complex or hotel. Near's not being kept at an abandoned warehouse or something of the like, which is good. But we still don't know if he's even in this country." Watari finished, glancing down at the boys. "And we have almost nothing to go on." Watari gave them a stony look. They were silent again, mulling over the information and failing to find any good leads.

"We'll bring L into this. He's between-cases right now, so he's quite eager to take this one up. From there, we must decide whether-" Watari was cut off by the ringing of the office phone. He glanced at the caller ID.

"It's not a local number, which means it's not likely to be a personal call for Roger, so I'll pick it up." Watari decided, snatching up the phone on the second-to-last ring.

"Watari speaking. Roger is currently unavailible, if you'd-" Watari started quickly then paused. "Yes? No, we have not. I do not wish to disclose that information. Oh? Really?" Watari pressed a small red button on the phone. Mello glanced over and saw that the button was labeled 'RECORD'. Watari looked disgusted, before hanging up furiously, the phone clattering on the reciever.

"Was it-?" Matt started to ask, but Watari was already talking.

"Beyond called to inform us of something quite...trivial." Watari spat out as if the sentence tasted bad in his mouth.

Mello wondered what it could be. It seemed strange that any news from Beyond would be considered...trivial.

**AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry for not updating in...forever. But now my laptop is stable, and I may continue! And let's make it clear that I am a review whore :P **


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